Icaras
Icaras are an Anti-Gravity racing team based in Great Britain and sourced worldwide by multiple independent parties. History Burnston Burns had already been famous for his publicity stunts, as evident with the extra pair of eyes in his forehead to advertise his digital spectacle company, Four-Ize. Burns started Icaras as a pet project in 2109 after claiming he was able to build an AG racing team from scratch within 7 months. Later, he registered Icaras to the Race Commission to compete in the F7200 League. It seemed that the reason Burns wanted to do such the thing was mainly due to the large contributions from various businesses around the world, willing to take part in the project. As a technical project separate from large conglomerates, Icaras lacks major funding and relies on multiple independent investors to form its budget. The team appear to epitomize the pure spirit of racing, favouring speed, creativity, and ingenuity, while eschewing violent tactics and aggression. The craft itself is defined by a very light build and forward-swept wings. And that becomes a sense for the team to introduce a "new approach" to AG racing. However, their proposed "new approach" to AG racing didn't turn out the way they expected. Their craft would often not make it through a race intact, making even finishing a race a cause for celebration – They didn't even finish a single race during their first two years of racing. This led to the team pilots complaining that the tracks were unsuitable for their craft. The team shut down following Burns' death in 2140. 53 years later, Icaras was reborn. Headed by Burns' grandson, Connor Burns, with the new headquarters in Great Britain, the new team is a much more serious attempt as opposed to a pet project in their days of the F7200 League. Retaining all the traits of the team's original F7200 craft (with a few modifications), the team made a return to the competition. Though a late entry in the FX300 League, they quickly gained popularity during the competition. However, they didn't expect the fact that FEISAR seemed to be very bitter of them, as their headquarters is in Great Britain, which is one of the member states of FEISAR. Since then, FEISAR have begun developing hatred towards them and trying to undermine them, even though Icaras don't seem to care about this at all. As such, FEISAR are now very determined to get rid of Icaras at any cost necessary, even if it goes as far as absorbing the entire team, much like they did in 2140 after the original team shut down. During the FX350 League, FEISAR also complained to the AG Racing Commission that many of their pilots had defected to Icaras. This was particularly evident with the FEISAR team complaining that the Icaras ship was overpowered, which saw Icaras having always finished the race in the better positions than FEISAR had. The other teams also decided to distance their pilots and crew from ever making any relationsship with Icaras. Due to this, Icaras would become a much-loathed rival later in the competition. Aside from the pressure from the other teams, Icaras became, once again, a late entry for the FX400 League, as they were still working on to build their ship, due to the lack of funds. Despite this, it would become the fastest ship, just as they claimed, even quicker than the Piranha ship of the time. As stated by Connor Burns, it had been claimed that the team would be another considerable contender of the League. FX400 Background Icaras were the perennial underdogs in the F7200 era racing of the early 2100's. Scoffed at by the larger teams, but firm favourite with the fans, Burnston Burns' outfit never quite enjoyed the success of the elite teams. For them, finishing a race was a victory in itself – doing so in the top half of the field was cause for champagne and back slapping behaviour that those at the head of the grid would think beneath them. That was then. The FX400 is now. The name might be the same, but the Icaras operation of 2207 is a different animal entirely. Well drilled and despite their modest budget, their speed is blinding. The only other chassis with the same kind of top-end is that of Piranha, and even their expertise and riches can't help them match the Icaras in terms of acceleration. Team Director Connor Burns admits, "We make no pretence about it – the speed and acceleration comes from our lack of armour, so we're weak in the shield department. But if they want to take advantage of that, they'll have to catch us first." FX400 Message Statement issued by Icaras Team Director, Connor Burns, North Weald, GB Get ready, Icaras fans – our SunGod FX350/FX400 craft is going to be the fastest thing on the track in 2207. You'll need to set your holo-cams to their fastest data rate and hope you don't blink, because you'll miss us if you do! If you've been checking out the Icaras datacast you'll already know that in pre-season testing we were quick off the marks and untouchable in a straight line. Yes, Piranha has said they can match us for pace, but by the time their ship gets up to speed ours will be spec on the horizon. Of course, we couldn't have that speed without sacrificing some shield strength, so we'll be looking to recruit pilots who have scored well in precision and race strategy at the MAGEC Academy to add to our roster for 2207. Before the team travels to Makana for the opening rounds of the FX400, you can come and meet the team and see the new SunGod race craft up close by attending the Icaras Fan Festival at our base in North Weald, England. Be sure to connect to the Icaras datacast for further details in the weeks ahead. Icaras – Flying High Appearance, Evolution & Stats Icaras craft are known for two important traits – High top speed and very low durability. Their craft are typically the fastest overall in the games they appeared, but also the weakest in terms of shield, making them extremely easy targets for elimination. Due to their outstanding top speed and abysmal shielding, the use of airbrakes becomes very necessary to keep the craft going, no matter how easy they handle. Throughout the series, the craft have always retained a forward-swept wing design, reflecting the enhanced maneuverability at high speed. The craft designs also feature stabilizing canards at either the front or the mid-section, and the cockpit is put at the far rear. Aside from those, their appearances differ everytime. In Wipeout 3, the design was the flimsiest among the team craft, even to date, with an incredibly thin fuselage, large rear wings, and medium-sized canards on the front. With the bulk of the engines in the wings, the craft was essentially a stick attached to a powerful engine. In Wipeout Pure, however, the ship has a different design, with the rear wings elongated and the canards now stretching along over half the ship to more-or-less become the front fuselage itself. The ship looks more like a bulkier work of engineering, although it still retains the low shields from before. In Wipeout Pulse, the design was tweaked very little and is almost the same as the previous league, however the design has become slightly wider, heavier, and bulkier, with larger canards and wings being pushed slightly towards the main body of the ship. Their Wipeout HD model returns the ship design to its roots, with the fuselage becoming slimmer, and shallow front canards, as well as the mid-body extensions, despite now merging into the forward-swept rear wings that dominate the design. Finally, the Fury design has omitted the canards almost altogether, favouring a more angular and staggered design based on the HD body. The rear wings are still present with their forward-swept design, but are less of an acute design. Gallery Icaraswip3out.png|Icaras logo from Wipeout 3 332820-icaras.gif|Icaras wallpaper from Wipeout 3 Icaraspure.png|Icaras logo from Wipeout Pure Icaras.png|Icaras logo from Wipeout Pulse Icaras_Pink_BG.png|Icaras logo from Wipeout Pulse with alternate background Icaras_1.png|Alternate Icaras logo from Wipeout Pulse Icaras_1024x768.jpg|Icaras wallpaper from Wipeout Pulse Trivia *The team name is often misspelled as the name of a character from the Greek mythology, Icarus. Yet, the name Icarus can often be considered the inspiration to name this team. *While the year when Icaras was reformed is supposed to be 2193, the team's background in the official Wipeout Pulse website lists it as 2199. *Burnston Burns' death in 2140 was due to a rather humorous incident where he accidentally swallowed a balloon at a children's party. *As referred to in the background above, it is supposed that FEISAR and Icaras are arch-rivals to each other since Wipeout Pure. Category:Teams